Kevin Peterson's graffiti girls

The North American street artist Kevin Peterson has created a line a work that combines hyperrealistic portraiture and natural graffiti penmanship, giving both disciplines a completely new take and showing his command of both styles. The series is called "Graffiti Girls" and features young girls standing in front of painted walls.

Peterson knows how to combine the jagged shapes of wall tags alongside of the soft beauty of the girls portrayed. This game of polar opposites only serves to empower the portrait, showing the strength beneath the innocent and clean beauty of these girls. The colors and the design enhance the beauty of the portraits and give a clue about the personality of the model. In order to achieve a greater coherence, the tags are coordinated with the girls' outfits, finding a balance in the stark contrast of the urban context and childhood. Peterson often explains that his art deals with the "varied journeys we take through life. It’s about growing up and living in a world that is broken. These paintings are about trauma, fear and loneliness and the strength that it takes to survive and thrive."